What You Like Falls on Party Lines

Facebook ‘likes’ illustrate the personal differences between Republicans and Democrats

Republicans and Democrats divide on policy positions, and the ideological divisions can extend to taste in music, movies and books. An analysis of what people who “like” the presidential candidates on Facebook “like” elsewhere shows interesting ways the partisan divide can go beyond the issues.

To “like” something on Facebook, a user has to deliberately click the button. Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump has 9.1 million “likes” on Facebook, which has 201 million monthly active users in the U.S. Presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton has 4.3 million. To determine the data set used below, Facebook took that audience, removed people that liked both pages and looked at what other items the people had liked on Facebook.

Below, a state-by-state look at what people who “like” the presidential candidates or members of their respective parties also “like” on Facebook.

Musicians/Bands

Clinton-likers’ top choice by state

Lady Gaga

The Beatles

DC

Adele

Fantasia

Beyoncé

Trump-likers’ top choice by state

Eminem

Ted Nugent

Jason Aldean

Blake Shelton

George Strait

Luke Bryan

Clinton-likers’ top choice by state

Lady Gaga

The Beatles

DC

Adele

Fantasia

Beyoncé

Trump-likers’ top choice by state

Eminem

Ted Nugent

Jason Aldean

Blake Shelton

George Strait

Luke Bryan

Trump-likers’ top choice by state

Clinton-likers’ top choice by state

Lady Gaga

The Beatles

Eminem

Ted Nugent

DC

Jason Aldean

Adele

Blake Shelton

George Strait

Luke Bryan

Fantasia

Beyoncé

Trump-likers’ top choice by state

Clinton-likers’ top choice by state

Lady Gaga

The Beatles

Eminem

Ted Nugent

DC

Adele

Jason Aldean

Blake Shelton

George Strait

Luke Bryan

Fantasia

Beyoncé

Far and away, the Republican group is more country, while fans of Mrs. Clinton are more pop. At the top of the list for people who like Mrs. Clinton is Adele. The connection is fitting: Mrs. Clinton herself told Sirius XM that the singer is “her go-to voice” and that she has “such a huge admiration for her skills, her abilities and her personality.”

On Mrs. Clinton’s list, the support is largely mutual. Adele is British, so she hasn’t voiced her support in the election; but Beyonce, second on the list, and Lady Gaga, third on the list, have voiced support for Clinton’s campaign on social media. Mrs. Clinton called Beyonce’s new album, “Lemonade,” “great” when she was interviewed by Ellen DeGeneres.

Rocker Ted Nugent tops the list for people who like Mr. Trump, covering most of the Western U.S. and northern Midwest. Mr. Nugent is a vocal Trump supporter— in a Facebook post in December, the musician called the presumptive Republican nominee “the hellraiser America has needed for a very longtime.” The rest of the musicians on the list are country—with the exception of the Northeast, Hawaii and the District of Columbia, where people who “like” Mr. Trump prefer rapper Eminem.

Across the country, Democrats like George Takei. Best-known for playing Sulu on “Star Trek,” Mr. Takei is also known for advocating for LGBT issues and equality on his Facebook page, which has 9.7 million likes—topics Mrs. Clinton also emphasizes on her social accounts.

Republicans in the Western states choose movie star John Wayne, while those in the East liked comedic actor Adam Sandler. Mr. Wayne was a registered Republican, and Mr. Sandler has been registered with the party in the past and performed at the Republican National Convention in 2004. A spokeswoman for Mr. Sandler said he doesn’t talk about politics.

The standout is in the Southeast states, where Clinton likers favor actress Jada Pinkett Smith, who announced she was boycotting the Oscars this year over the lack of racial diversity in the nominees. And in Mississippi and Alabama, “Growing Pains” actor Kirk Cameron is the top of the list for Mr. Trump. Mr. Cameron is also an evangelical Christian and routinely posts scriptures and self-help articles on Facebook.

When it comes to the movies that people who like the candidates are watching, there’s a stark difference: Mr. Trump’s fans are watching religious movies, while Mrs. Clinton’s fans are focused on blockbusters. “Harry Potter,” “The Hunger Games” and even “Titanic” top the list for Mrs. Clinton.

For Mr. Trump, “God’s Not Dead” tops the list. The movie, which is about a Christian defending his beliefs, actually tried to advertise its sequel with the same name in Cleveland during the Republican National Convention. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the proposed ad was a 32-by-60-foot banner that read, “I’d rather stand with God and be judged by the world than stand with the world and be judged by God.” Film distributor Pure Flix said the sign was nixed by Orange Barrel Media for being “needlessly provocative.” Orange Barrel declined to comment further on the issue when asked by The Wall Street Journal.

The small-screen favorites illustrate the ideological divide between Republicans and Democrats—and highlight a strong interest in news. When all people who liked a Democratic presidential candidate are factored in, “The Daily Show” comes out on top nationally. But when just people who liked Mrs. Clinton are counted, “The Rachel Maddow Show” is the most-liked. Both shows present news through a liberal lens. The one exception to this was Louisiana and Mississippi, where people like “Empire.”

For Mr. Trump and all Republicans, “Duck Dynasty,” a reality show about the Louisiana-based Robertson family that makes products for duck hunters, topped the list. Known for their Christian views, the Robertsons have thrown their support behind Mr. Trump, after some intrafamilial divides during the GOP primary.

“The Kelly File,” an evening news show on Fox hosted by Megyn Kelly is also a top show for Republicans and fans of Donald Trump, especially on the West Coast. Mr. Trump clashed with Ms. Kelly in the first Republican debate and Ms. Kelly was a regular target for the candidate during the primary, but the two have since declared the conflict over.

When it comes to what fans of the presidential candidates are reading, Democrats are focused on fantasy and sci-fi, while Republicans prefer religion and almanacs. Of people who “like” Mr. Trump, the “Old Farmer’s Almanac” and the “Farmers’ Almanac”—which are two separate companies—top the list. Third on the list is the King James Bible.

Mr. Trump has actively worked to court evangelical support. And a Pew Research Center report published July 13 noted that it might be working. Seventy-eight percent of white evangelical voters said they would vote for Mr. Trump if the election were held today. Mr. Trump has support from some evangelical leaders, including Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr.

Those who like Mrs. Clinton prefer fiction. “The Great Gatsby”—the F. Scott Fitzgerald story about Jay Gatsby, a man who built himself from rags to riches through illegal deals and obsesses over his neighbor’s wife—tops the list. J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy novels “Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” are also liked. An exception is the Southern states, where religious title “I Declare, Joel Osteen” is the top pick. Mr. Osteen hasn’t endorsed anyone in the presidential race.

When it comes to sports, favorite athletes of people who like the presidential candidates differ as much as the candidates. Women are at the top of the list nationally for both candidates.

Of people who like Mrs. Clinton, Wimbledon champion Serena Williams is at the top across the country. She also tops the list in much of the South and Midwest. At the French Open, Ms. Williams told the Associated Press she doesn’t vote or get involved in politics because she is a Jehovah’s Witness.

For people who like Mr. Trump, mixed martial arts star Ronda Rousey is at the top of the list. This is the only instance in Facebook’s analysis of all of the topics in which the candidate and the person or company at the top of the list clash. Ms. Rousey told CNN in August that she wouldn’t be voting for Mr. Trump because “I don’t want a reality TV star to be running my country.” When Ms. Rousey lost the UFC women’s bantamweight championship in November, Mr. Trump tweeted that he was glad to see her lose because she is “not a nice person.”

Clinton-only likers

Trump-only likers

Methodology:

To pull the data set used in these charts, Facebook first looked at all currently active people on Facebook in the U.S. who have “liked” a Democratic (Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Lincoln Chafee, Martin O’Malley, Jim Webb, Lawrence Lessig) or Republican (Donald Trump, Ben Carson, Jeb Bush, Carly Fiorina, Chris Christie, Rand Paul, Lindsey Graham, John Kasich, Mike Huckabee, Bobby Jindal, Rick Santorum, Jim Gilmore, George Pataki, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz) candidate for president since Jan. 1, 2015. Active users on Facebook are defined as people who have accessed their account in the past 30 days. From that pool of people, Facebook looked at what other pages on Facebook they have “liked” and then compared the “liking” behavior of various groups to determine preferences. The groups are exclusive, so people who “liked” Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton weren’t included in this data set. Photos from the top users' Facebook pages.